Naturally Dangerous

Surprising Facts About
Food, Health and the Environment

James P. Collman
Stanford University

"An
excellent resource for all of us"

"More
books like this need to be written -- and read...If you think the sky is
falling, that cancer is imminent, and that all things natural or 'organic' are
wonderful, open this book and surprise yourself with the facts."
--Choice

"Aiming to
improve readers' scientific literacy, Naturally Dangerous examines the
risks involved in the choices we make about what we eat, how we treat our
illnesses and how much time we spend out in the sun. From electric blankets to
monosodium glutamate to genetically engineered foods, Collman steers a reasoned,
sensible course through the potentially hazardous straits of everyday life...if
you treat Collman's book as a sampler of solid advice, you won't finish it
feeling hungry."--The Washington Post

"This
is one of the most valuable books on public health policy - not merely on
environmental policy - to have been written for the intelligent general reader
in recent years. Its author is James P. Collman, the George A. and Hilda M.
Daubert Professor of Chemistry at Stanford. His target is scientific illiteracy
and its effects on public opinion about what is hazardous; overblown health
scares reported daily by the news media; and futile government efforts to craft
consumer protection policies."

"Collman's scientific
acumen is evident throughout this book. Only an excellent communicator with a
profound understanding of a subject can provide such clear and simple
explanations of facts, making them totally accessible to nonscientists and at
the same time satisfying to chemists. In this slim and engaging volume,
Collman broaches in a lucid, no-nonsense style exactly what the title
proffers...This is no doom-and-gloom treatise. It's an adult, scholarly look at
the risks involved with the choices we make."
--Chemical and Engineering News

"Professor
James Collman of Stanford University has provided an excellent resource for all
of us who try to help our students and the general public to discriminate
between valid science and the bogus "scientific" claims that pervade
television, the Internet, the grocery store, and especially the "health
food" store."
--Hal Harris, Hal's Pick of the Month, Journal
of Chemical Education

Full of surprising
anecdotes, curious facts and historical oddities, this remarkable little book
connects observations from our everyday lives to the scientific principles that
explain them. You will find information on organic produce, irradiated foods,
trans fat and fat substitutes, natural
herbs, designer drugs, smallpox, Mad Cow Disease, Prions, Anthrax, cancer, DNA testing, global
warming, acid rain, aphrodisiacs, pheromones, and much more. Chances are
if there is something you were wondering about, you will find it covered
here. Should you be eating margarine? Are cell phones safe?
Read on!

The author
has avoided scientific jargon and mathematics to make this book of interest to
nonscientists and scientists alike.

About
the Author:Jim Collman
is a Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. A member of the National Academy
of Sciences and a recipient of numerous research and teaching awards, Collman is
also an avid fly-fisherman with broad interests in the environment, health,
nutrition and the history of science.